Time and Time Again
by offbrandgizmo
Summary: Riley James can manipulate the perception of time - and when he meets with an ex-employer who promises to help him explore the extent of his powers, well, how can he pass? Harrison Wells says that he can help Riley learn to control time beyond mere perception, and if it means that Riley gets to spend extended periods of time with Barry Allen, he's all for it. Barry/OC, Season 1.
1. Prologue

**Time and Time Again**

* * *

 **Prologue**

"You're gonna want to get to S.T.A.R. Labs."

When Harrison Wells spoke into the phone before hanging up, watching me dead on, I felt a shiver run down my spine and my blood went cold, even though, while he did look mildly aggressive, he was more like an aggressive badger than, say, an aggressive bear.

Unless it was an aggressive teddy bear, in which case, I'd have to redact that statement.

"I swear, I didn't break in, I just…" I held my hands higher in defence, taking a step backwards to assert my, well, utter lack of dominance.

He eyed me up further before raising his eyebrows. "Really? Because as far as I'm aware, you've been popping in and out of S.T.A.R. Labs regularly for the last week, all somehow without being detected on security footage or, quite miraculously, tripping any of the alarms. And that's not breaking and entering, how, exactly?"

I bit my lip with a grin I supressed as soon as it came. "Okay, so, you have a point, _but_ -" I was cut off when I found myself – quite suddenly, might I say – face to face with the myth, the legend, The Flash.

"Who are you?"

I opened my mouth for a moment before closing it again, repeating the action a number of times before I stepped forward with a hand outstretched. I quickly retracted the gesture when he stepped back. "Sorry." I gave a sheepish smile. "I just kind of feel like I already know you, Barry Allen." The tension in the room was obvious as I said his name, and I shrugged and stepped back. "Please, don't wear the suit on my account." I frowned, giving him a once-over. "I can't imagine how that is comfortable." I muttered.

Neither man said anything until the speedster stepped forward. " _Who are you_?" His tone was more threatening now, and I held up my hands again.

"Sorry, sorry. Riley James, a currently unemployed professional personal assistant." I glanced away and frowned again, muttering to myself once more. "That's a mouthful."

I shrugged and shifted my gaze back and forth between the two. "I used to be the personal assistant of an employee here at S.T.A.R. Labs, until, of course, that fateful night took the life of my, uh, employer? Although I guess technically that was you," I threw a lazy hand gesture toward Wells, pausing. "Not that you'd remember me – I was only on the job for a few months."

"No, I remember you. Riley James. You were Ronnie Raymond's assistant." There was a brief glance shared between the two, and I sighed.

"Yeah." I glanced at my feet temporarily. "But I'm not here because of that – believe it or not, I actually _don't_ have a crazy vendetta against you for anything that happened that night. I'm not angry about any of it, really. Except, just maybe, just a _little_ …" I unhooked my watch and threw it in the air, holding my hand up and stopping its descent to the ground all at once. "This."


	2. Chapter 1

**Time and Time Again**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

"We came as soon as we heard-!"

My focus broken, the watch fell to the ground as two people ran into the S.T.A.R. Labs control room, and I winced as the miniature clock landed glass-side down.

Barry and Harrison still watching me, I gestured towards the fallen object with slight disdain. "Can I-?"

At Barry's hesitant nod, I scooped up my watch and returned it to my wrist, glad to see it wasn't damaged, but not exactly revelling in the blatant silence that accompanied the action.

"So," I clapped my hands together and glanced at the new company. "How've our days been? Good, I hope?"

Silence.

"What were you doing the night of the accident, Mr James?"

I glanced at Wells when he spoke and nodded, clapping my hands once again. "Interrogation, right. Cool." At the prompting expressions of the four in front of me, I took a breath. "Well, uh, I've been researching and gathered that, clearly, the, uh, abilities being given to the – what is it you're calling them – or us, I suppose? Metahumans?" At the positive gesture from who I knew to be Cisco, I continued. "Well, I know that the abilities that they're developing are directly related to something they were doing, or the circumstances of their whereabouts on the night of the particle accelerator incident, and well, my story is truly spectacular." Pause for dramatic effect. "I was fixing my watch."

There was a scoff from Barry and I bit my lip to hold back my own laugh. "What?" His posture had relaxed substantially, and I relaxed my own in response.

"It was running slow," I drawled. "So, I was fixing it – turning the little knob when, _boom_ , everything went black. I woke up what I assume was a few days later to discover that the person I worked for was _dead_ and I was jobless as a result."

"You're Riley!" Caitlin took a few rapid steps around the computers and towards me, stopping when Barry held a hand up to her. She gave him a look before pushing the arm away and coming slightly _too_ close to me, an action to which I responded by stepping back. She ignored my discomfort and spoke again. "You were Ronnie's PA."

I raised an eyebrow and nodded, not failing to notice the hesitation when she said her blatantly dead fiancé's name. "The one and only." I declared, spreading my arms.

Cisco had come up closer behind Caitlin and by this time, Wells had, uh, wheeled himself to my side and was studying me curiously.

"You're saying your powers are time manipulation of some sort?" He questioned.

I fumbled with my watch out of habit, uncomfortable with the sudden crowding. "Uh, yeah, well, as far as I'm aware it's time perception manipulation, and it seems pretty, well, limited – as limited as freaking _time perception manipulation_ can be." I couldn't help the brief excitement that leaked its way into my voice as I spoke, and didn't miss the grin that flashed across Cisco's face alike.

Harrison nodded. "So _that's_ how you got in and out of S.T.A.R. Labs without being detected."

I nodded, my hand making its way towards my neck as I smiled sheepishly at the group. "Yeah, so, I already know all of you – I've been watching you for a week or so…" At their expressions I held my hands up again, repeating my earlier stance. "Hey, I have severe trust issues – and I _may_ have also wanted to test my powers."

Barry scoffed. "And you couldn't have just come to us in the first place to have us help you test them?"

I gave him the most condescending look I could manage. "This was, a, cooler, and b, you've all been _taking care_ of Metahumans for the past while and I was, I dunno, a little bit concerned for my safety!"

"Riley." I looked down at Harrison as he intercepted my slightly angry exclamation. "A word?"

I nodded tentatively and followed him as he led me into a room that housed the treadmill I'd seen Barry using.

Without waiting for a word out of me, Harrison was speaking as soon as we were alone. "I think we can help you – _I_ can help you. I'm willing to bet someone with your background is more than ready to help others the way I'm sure you've seen Mr. Allen doing, am I right?"

I avoided tensing as best I could. "My background, Dr. Wells?"

The way his eyes didn't leave mine at all was slightly disconcerting. "While I know you'd like to think, _Mr. Gallagher_ , that by changing your name you could avoid us here at S.T.A.R. Labs finding out about your history, you're quite mistaken."

I couldn't avoid stiffening at that. "If you knew, then why'd you hire me?" I gritted my teeth and stared right back.

"I'm not the kind of person to judge someone based upon an action of the past, Riley."

I simply nodded at that. "Well, uh, as you said, I am more than willing to help people. It's actually, uh, why I came."

Harrison's hand met with the frame of his glasses as his ever-calculating eyes glanced away from mine. "I know." His gaze returned once more, expectedly. "Which is why I'm offering you a job, of sorts." I stayed silent as a motion for him to continue. "If you help us with our work here at S.T.A.R. Labs, I'll hire you under the position of a scientific researcher and you'll be paid in accordance to that job. In reality, of course, you'll be studying your abilities with me – with all of us – and assisting with Mr. Allen's activities as 'The Flash'."

I nodded, not needing to think it over. The scientific researcher position was basically a bonus compared to what I'd come in for. "I'll accept, of course, and uh, just so you know, I'm _technically_ qualified for that position – if it's time travel research, that is. Just for your, uh, peace of mind."

"Time travel?" He questioned, his hand once more meeting the frame of his glasses.

"I'm something of a time travel theorist, Dr. Wells."

After a brief pause, he nodded. "While that is interesting information, I'll assure you that qualification won't be an issue in your position."

I couldn't help the smile that rested on my face, borderline a grin. "Thank you, Dr. Wells. Is that all?" I asked, gesturing back towards the door.

His gaze was staring away from me thoughtfully and he nodded slightly. "That will be all, Riley."

I paused at the doorhandle and turned back briefly. "Uh, when you said _'us'_ , about the whole, 'my background' thing, uh, who did you mean?"

His lips, which were a stiff line, turned up very slightly. "Myself and Ronnie."

I felt a pit in my stomach drop. "Thanks." I said sincerely before leaving the room.

As I returned to the control room, I noticed that Barry had changed out of the suit – _and probably in a matter of seconds, or milliseconds, even._

"You look better with clothes on." I said in response to the awkward silence that ensued when they all turned their attention to me. "Not that you didn't have clothes on before – not that you'd look bad if you didn't, I'm sure you'd look absolutely fabulous without any clothes on–" I let a hand meet my face as I stifled any other words that wanted to leave my mouth without my consent. "I'm just gonna, uh…" I pursed my lips and glanced away from the awkward shared glances between the three of them.

I was eternally grateful when I heard Harrison re-enter the room and speak up. "Cisco, Caitlin, Mr. Allen," he addressed the group. "Mr. James will be joining us both in pursuit of researching his own abilities, and in assisting The Flash."

Barry looked like he was about to protest until Caitlin made her way to my side, speaking quickly. "Oh, absolutely, we have to start running some tests and comparing your vitals to Barry's and seeing how-" She continued on and I may or may not have vaguely tuned out as she began to usher me towards a gurney – evidently a place for me to sit while she poked at me with needles.

Following his co-worker, Cisco also stepped towards me and suddenly grinned. "Oh, hell yes."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He smirked. "This means I get to come up with another awesome nickname – but first, we need to see what you can do."

At that, I had to smirk too.

I glanced over to where Barry and Harrison had noticeably spoken in whispers as this occurred, and I twisted myself away from Caitlin for a moment to stand in front of Barry.

I sighed and laughed. "Sorry for, uh, my entrance. And, the whole, uh, clothes thing."

After a moment of wary staring, the smile he was suppressing worked its way onto his face, and he held out a hand, shaking his head. "Welcome to the team, Mr. James."

I returned the gesture. "Riley's fine."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright, first official chapter out. Chapters for this story are likely to be fairly short compared to my usual. Not sure why - it just works that way. And sorry if this was a bit dry.**_

 _ **I have to thank Nana for reviewing and following this - gave me the will to write this chapter. I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in this story, but if there's just one person who's interested, of course, I have something of an obligation to them. It's a good thing ;D  
In response to your review:  
**First, thank you so much for the review! I really, really appreciate it. I'm definitely working on fleshing out and developing the time perception power, and Riley definitely has a background - but whether or not it's related to time travel, well. I can't answer that ;) Riley and Barry are endgame, but it might be a slow burn, since I will need to address the issue of Barry's sexuality (in this story, likely bi/pan - and if it's pan, well, I won't need to address it so much)/Iris.  
I definitely agree with there not being enough Character/Male OC pairings - the idea from which this is born, pretty much. And oh my god, Sebastian, don't get me started on him. Guilty pleasure, having the hots for him.  
Again, thank you so much for the review!_

 _ **Thanks for reading, and ciao!**_

 _ **\- Alex.**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Time and Time Again**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

"Um, Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you're manipulating my perception of time right now…"

I jumped off of the bed and ripped the wires from my arms, stepping back away from Caitlin, who blinked a few times before training her gaze back on me.

"I'm sorry." I said quickly, trying to steady my shaking breaths.

Caitlin frowned and shook her head. "I'm fine. Things just got kind of sluggish. Actually," She glanced away for a moment. "That's been happening on and off all week – this is what you were talking about, wasn't it?" Her eyes widened in a moment of clarity as I nodded. "This is how it felt when you were around."

"Yeah, I, uh…" I sat back down on the gurney and glanced at Harrison, who was also present for the tests Caitlin was running. Cisco was out in the control room monitoring one of The Flash's 'things'. "I would walk around and watch you all in here," I threw a half-hearted hand gesture in the air. "If anyone almost saw me, I'd slow their perception of time and, well; get out before I was caught."

Caitlin frowned, as did Harrison, before she spoke. "But why did you manipulate it just now?"

I shrugged, looking at the ground. "I didn't."

Caitlin stepped up to the tablet she'd been using to monitor my brain and tapped at it a few times. "No, you must have been – the reaction from the cerebral cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia were functioning the same way they did when we ran tests before."

Her biology mutterings meant little to me, and I frowned. "But I didn't… I wasn't trying to."

She pursed her lips and glanced over the Harrison as he spoke up. "Is it possible that you could be doing it subconsciously?" He made his way over to take the tablet from Caitlin, who watched on thoughtfully. "The associated regions of your brain that function in relation to your ability are also the regions responsible for time management and perception – perhaps your brain is reacting in response to stimuli, maybe you're… conditioning yourself to manipulate time when you're experiencing certain things?"

The three of us remained silent for a few moments until Caitlin spoke up. "It's possible that, on a subconscious level, you've started using your abilities as a way of countering fear."

I blinked. "But I wasn't scared just now?"

Caitlin laughed suddenly, startling myself and Harrison slightly, and she bit her lip. "Riley, I don't want to upset you or anything, but you didn't exactly look pleased when I was about to get a blood sample."

I sighed as her still kind smile widened and I shook my head. "I may or may not be very vaguely scared of needles."

Caitlin was about to speak until Harrison cut her off. "Maybe that's enough for today, Caitlin?"

The scientist looked slightly dejected, but smiled anyway.

The three of us made our way out to join Cisco, and I grabbed my coat just as Barry suddenly flew through the door and high fived the fellow scientist and arguable troublemaker.

"Job well done, then?" I questioned with a smile.

"Oh, you know," Barry's hands flourished in front of him. "Just saved 9 people from a burning building, the usual."

"Hm," I couldn't help but grin back. "Better watch yourself there, Allen." I commented as I backtracked out of the lab. "If I didn't know any better that sounded almost flirtatious." I shot the man a wink before I slipped out of sight, not missing the laughter I could hear from Caitlin and Cisco.

What? I can't help but flirt with pretty people.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't take out another loan?" I demanded, fighting the urge to slam my hand down on the counter. "I've paid all of them off!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. James, but you've exceeded what we can legally give you for the month…" The lady on the other side of the counter spoke, soft but firm, and I couldn't help the habitual tick of running my hands through my hair and returning to 'fix' my watch. At the sight of it, she must have taken pity on me, because she spoke again. "I'm very sorry, Mr. James."

I felt something behind my eyes grow hot and desperate and I pushed it back. "I-" I hesitated, my eyelids feeling heavy with weariness. "It's for my mother, _please_." I pleaded, and saw her shake her head before the doors suddenly slammed open and chaos ensued.

"On the ground now!" As a warning shot was fired into the air, I followed suit with the rest of the people in the bank and lowered myself to the ground, defenseless.

 _Come on, Riley!_ My mind ran all over the place as I tried to think of what I could possibly do in this situation. _You can manipulate the perception of time, maybe you could disarm them all before they noticed?_ I quickly dismissed the idea of heroics like that. _You can only slow the_ perception _of time. They'd still see that it was you – and you've never done it for so long._

I glanced around and counted four gunmen specifically, one of whom had shoved a bag in the face of the lady I had just been talking to as she threw all the money she could grab into it frantically.

I didn't have to worry long, though, because literally in a blink, The Flash was there, until something strange happened.

He _should_ have just been able to run in and out, cut and dry, since it was clear that none of the men were Metahumans, but he hesitated, enough for one of the men to point a gun at him and fire.

He _should_ have just been able to dodge it easily, he could probably even catch the bullet, but instead his eyes widened as he barely threw himself away from the thing at what was arguably a very, very human speed.

And, when the lady behind the counter passed the bag back to the man holding her at gunpoint and, by whatever sadistic nature, he pulled the trigger aimed at her chest, he _should_ have just been able to pull her from the line of fire.

But he didn't. And with a cry and a scream from somewhere in the bank, the bullet that had lodged itself into her chest sent her to the ground, no longer in my line of vision.

As Barry seemed to finally regain his speed, I took the opportunity of seeing the flash of lightning to dart behind the counter and slam my hands onto the woman's wound while the men were preoccupied, trying to apply enough pressure to slow the bleeding.

As she spluttered and gasped my mind tried to grasp some comforting words to say to her, but all I could see was the red; the blood that was leaking past my hands and onto my clothes, soaking them and forming a puddle on the ground.

Even when I was pulled away from the body and somehow ended up sitting in a chair with a shock blanket wrapped around my arms as the cops swarmed the place, all I could see was that red. That blood.

And then, somehow, somewhere inside of me, something clicked and I was all too quickly conscious again. I stood, shrugging the blanket from my shoulders and walking over to the nearest officer I saw. "Excuse me, sir, can you tell me if the woman who was shot is – is she okay?"

Somewhere in the flustered chaos I registered a shake of his head and a question, but all I really heard were the words, "Critical condition."

* * *

It was some unregistered time later when I found myself, still wearing the same clothes, now covered in dried blood under the clean jacket I'd grabbed from my apartment, returning to S.T.A.R. Labs, where I found Caitlin.

She took one look at me before she went into a frenzy, taking me over to a chair where she had me sit and began to check me for injury until I stopped her.

"It's not mine." I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes that I once again supressed. "It's not mine." I repeated aimlessly.

She didn't seem to know what to do or say until she settled for a light hushing sound and a hand rubbing circles across mine. "It's okay. It's okay."

This continued for a short time until Harrison entered the room with an expression I couldn't place. "Riley, we need to talk."

As if on cue, Cisco entered from behind Harrison, who spoke cautiously as I trained my eyes on him.

"Barry told us that what he felt in the bank was the same feeling as when you used your powers on us." He paused before he confirmed exactly what I'd feared. "What we discovered about the connection between your abilities and fear seems to be… something to be wary of."

I took a breath in, letting it out in a pathetic scoff. "You mean it's dangerous – I'm dangerous."

Harrison nodded bluntly. "Yes, your abilities, just like Barry's, are dangerous while we don't know their full extent. It would seem that you may be able to manipulate time beyond mere perception, and that's what happened today."

I couldn't help the panicked breath that forced its way from between my lips in the form of another barely-there scoff. "That woman is in the hospital because of me."

Caitlin was quick to frown and shake her head gently. "No, no Riley, you can't blame yourself for-"

I pushed her hand away. "If I hadn't of been so damn scared, if I hadn't slowed Barry down, he would have been in and out of there in _seconds_. But instead, she got shot. She could die. She could die, and it is all my fault."

There was a lingering silence in the air that did nothing for my personal blame game until Cisco approached me. "This," He began, holding up a thin metal bracelet, "Since the biggest problem seems to be your subconscious triggering your abilities without you being aware, will read the response from your brain and if it picks up excess activity in the applicable regions, will send a small shock into your system that should effectively keep you aware of when you're using your abilities." He seemed pleased with himself as he handed me the device, and I was quick to clamp it down on my free wrist, glad to have some degree of control over what was, right now, utterly terrifying and unknown.

"Thanks," I gave a half-hearted smile of gratitude and he shot me a smirk.

"No problem…" He paused before the smirk grew and he gave hand gesture in the air. "Chronos."

I gave him a blank stare. "Absolutely not."

He winced. "Too much?"

I just hung my head with a laugh before excusing myself and heading to sit alone in the treadmill room for a while.

* * *

"It was about a week in," I looked up as his voice suddenly echoed through the room and watched as Barry pulled up a seat, sitting in it backwards, adjacent to my own place on the edge of the giant treadmill. "I… I'd been doing fine for a while, stopping petty crimes and waiting for any other Metahumans to surface. But, suddenly I started to get head rushes after I ran." His eyes were trained on me as he spoke. "When I ran after some guys who had tried to kill a man, and I fainted. Later, Caitlin and Cisco told me I was hypoglycaemic."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "You weren't eating enough." I nodded at his shared chuckle.

"We'd never accounted for the fact that, along with my body working faster, so would my metabolism." He continued. "So, they worked up a new diet for me after they realised." I stayed silent as he paused again. "My point is, we had no idea what I was capable of – what I could do, what the power would do to my body, the residual effects. We had to discover all of that, as is science, and during that process, some bad guys got away. Some people probably died. But we learned. And I know, trust me, I know, that of the number of people I've saved versus the number of people who've died because of my mistakes – one far outweighs the other. And you know which." He stood. "You're going to make mistakes. You're going to face choices that you don't want to make. But at the end of the day, you'll be saving lives. And you'll have an amazing team," He gestured through the glass pane in the door, where Caitlin, Cisco and Harrison could all be seen working separately, "To help you through it. To help _us_ through it."

I followed suit and stood as well. "That was… Thank you." I spoke sincerely but shook my head. "But she's in the hospital because of me. She could die. I spoke to her. I was arguing with her, and I…"

He put a hand on my arm briefly to get my attention back on him after my gaze had flicked to the ground. "Her condition – it's stable."

I frowned, feeling the relief flooding my chest indescribably. "How did you-?"

He gave me a small smile. "I went to the hospital, checked up on her. She's going to be fine."

I rubbed my eyes and sighed, the overall exhaustion from the day hitting me like a freight train.

Barry obviously noticed that, and he patted my shoulder and ushered me toward the door. "Now you, you really need to get some rest. And clean up – you look pretty terrible."

I glanced down and laughed at the sight of my bloody clothes. I probably smelled disgusting, too. "Oh god, that's a nightmare."

"Yeah," He agreed with a good-natured grin. "Anyone'd think you'd been in a bank robbery or something." He exaggerated his words severely, and I shoved his shoulder with the strength I could manage, sending him stumbling to the side.

"Gee, thanks." I returned.

He caught the underlying connotation. "Anytime."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I am super, super tired all of a sudden. But I did notice that this is the second Tuesday in a row I've uploaded. So, Tuesday seems like a pretty good unofficial schedule for the most part.**_

 _ **Other than that, a quick but huge thanks for another review, Nana, and a thanks to those who followed/favourited. Means the world, really.**_

 _ **Goodnight!**_

 ** _\- Alex._**


	4. Chapter 3

**Time and Time Again**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

It had been about a month since I'd joined Team Flash—and yes, in agreeance with Cisco we were totally calling it that—and it felt like the missing part of my life that I never could have imagined I didn't have. In the last few weeks, I hadn't messed up with regards to my powers at all, and it had even been fun, messing around with them somewhat, mostly with Cisco and occasionally Barry, with Harrison and Caitlin disapproving on the side.

I'd even met with Joe, Barry's adoptive father, and learned from Barry about his past with his mother's death and his father being in prison for a crime he didn't commit—I fully believed every word of the story; there was no reason not to—and still, even despite his opening up to me, I hadn't had the heart to do so myself, not really.

Caitlin, however, knew most everything about my current personal issues and my background. She was truly the closest friend I'd made here at S.T.A.R. Labs.

Which was why when she approached me at my spot reading my latest book in my favourite place, the treadmill room, I couldn't help but grin and bite my lip, pretending to ignore her while she tried to get my attention.

"Oh, don't be an ass, Riley!" She cried eventually, shoving my shoulder lightly. "I have some new meds for you to try for the insomnia." She waved a pill bottle in front of my face and I smiled this time and took it from her.

"Thanks, Cait." I responded simply and she smiled back and left me to my book once more.

This was how most days went—I had no training of any kind and my powers weren't exactly suitable in their current state to actually go out and help Barry, since really I just got in his way, so instead I'd remain in the Cortex with Caitlin, Cisco and Harrison—who occasionally disappeared?—and just read a book in the quiet room when nothing interesting was happening.

The whole thing was pleasant, and it gave me somewhere to go other than to visit my mother, which had really been my only option in the past, given that I had never allowed myself to socialise enough to have any actual friends beyond a few limited exes, and in my experience, nobody really stayed friends with their exes.

Caitlin had figured out herself that I had issues with insomnia, and she'd taken it upon herself to help me with that—it was her immediacy in nature that probably sparked out friendship, and without it I probably would have steered clear of her mildly too-cheery nature.

I wasn't entirely sure whether it was her biological methods of treating the insomnia (as she said, to tap into the time perception part of my brain using the medication and, in some biological terms I really couldn't understand all that well, utilise the mix between my abilities and my body's natural state to make me sleep longer), or simply the change in my life that was helping, but whatever it was, I was grateful for it.

On top of this, I was pretty sure Harrison had been tracking where I was putting the money he was paying me for a job I wasn't actually doing. Because I'd been receiving money to my account, from the man himself, that was more than the quota I'd expected, and I had my suspicions that he was aware that I needed the money and had made me, basically, a charity case. I didn't want to mention this and seem insensitive, however, so it remained unsaid.

With how life was going, it had been a few days since I'd visited my mother, and a few days before Christmas seemed like a decent time to do so.

I packed up my book and slung my messenger bag over my shoulder, waving to Caitlin on the way out, and she called from her station, "Say 'hi' to her for me!"

The walk there was uneventful, and soon enough I met with Nancy, her nurse, who ensured me that nothing out of the ordinary had happening since I'd been gone. Even so, perhaps something out of the ordinary may have been a good thing once in a while.

I entered the room and was greeted with a smile from my mother—of whom I was an almost spitting image, not that it was ever acknowledged—and admired immediately how Nancy had done her hair today. It sat up with a blue bow that contrasted with the deep red of her hair, only a few shades lighter than my own, and was woven into a braid.

"Hello, Louise, how are you today? Your hair looks lovely." I sat down in the seat by her bed, and she frowned slightly.

"It does, doesn't it?" Her frown persisted. "Sorry, what's your name again? Wasn't it a Mr… Mr. Jamie?"

I forced a smile. Of course, this has been happening ever since I stopped visiting every single day. Her memory is diminishing more and more. "Mr. James, Louise. But Riley is fine, remember?"

I should have, in hindsight, asked Nancy if it was a touchy day, one of _those_ days, because my mother's eyes immediately glossed over. "My son's name is Riley. He's 15, and he never comes to visit me, did you know?" She huffed in a way that was an indication that she still felt 35 instead of 45. "He's probably just having that rebellious teenage phase, you know the one? I'm sure he'll come visit soon."

I nodded along. "I'm sure he will, Louise." I decided to move on. "My friend, Caitlin, says 'hi'. Do you remember her?"

She nodded happily. "The small girl who came with you before? Of course, she was lovely, wasn't she?" Her manners, staring out the window repeatedly and smiling constantly, gave her an air of ignorant bliss, which was all we could have asked for from her, having been in the hospital for what she thought was a few months, but we knew to be 10 years now. "I think she'd make a good wife for you." She proclaimed seriously, and I had to laugh at that—she'd said it even while Caitlin was here, in a hushed whisper that she thought Cait couldn't hear.

"I told you Louise, I don't fall in love with women like I do with men." I said earnestly, getting my book out of my bag and setting it in my lap.

She nodded. "Ah, yes, yes, I know. My Riley likes boys, too, but he doesn't accept it, even for himself." She was staring out the window, in another place again. "Ever since his father left us, he thinks it's his fault because he likes boys." She looked back at me. "You should talk to him, one day. Tell him that it's alright for him to like boys, too. I'm sure he'd like that."

I tried to gloss over the soft spot of the past and nodded. "I'm sure he would." And it was true – something like that probably would have helped young Riley. "How about we read now? I've got the book you requested." I quickly changed the subject and felt my chest clench at the too-young grin she gave, one too untrue to her years.

* * *

I was back at S.T.A.R. Labs later that day and to all of our surprise Barry handed out individual gifts to each of us. "Merry Christmas," He spoke earnestly. "Just a small token of my gratitude, for everything you guys have done for me this year."

I couldn't help but join in with Cait, who 'aww'ed at the gesture.

"I think I speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say you've been a gift for us, Barry." Harrison spoke, clearly humbled by our friend.

"I got you something, too, Bar," I shot the brunette a wink. "You'll just have to come get it from me later." These coy exchanges had become normal, and Barry even returned the flirting on occasion. This time he just laughed.

"What's that?" Cait gestured towards the cylinder in Barry's hands.

"This," He began, "Is compliments of Iris—Grandma Esther's famous eggnog."

Cisco shuffled to the side to set his gift down with a click towards the eggnog. "That's what I'm talking about."

Harrison nodded to himself, a gesture I didn't miss. "Maybe later for me," He spoke as he exited the room. "Wouldn't want to drink and drive."

Barry glanced at the three of us, worried. "Did I say something wrong?" He murmured.

I was aware of the circumstances through conversations with Cait, so I shook my head sadly along with two 'no's from Cait and Cisco.

"He, um, this used to be his favourite time of the year," Cisco said in a hushed tone, careful of Harrison's retreating form. "But the accident happened before Christmas, so, kind of ruined the holidays."

"I'm gonna go get him a present," Cait said decidedly. "Maybe that will cheer him up." She glanced between Barry and the present he'd given her. "Thank you, very much."

Barry nodded earnestly. "Yeah."

As she left, Barry turned to Cisco and I. "So, what are you guys doing for Christmas?"

Cisco spoke up begrudgingly. "Probably have to go by the family's place—try not to murder my brother, again."

The two of us listening shared a chuckle. Cisco and I were vaguely aware of each other's familial situations.

"How about you, Riley?" Barry questioned, and I shrugged as well.

"Probably just spend it with family," I brushed off, ignoring the vague look I received from Cisco, prompting me to actually be honest with Barry—unlikely.

In an attempt to move the focus of attention from me, I turned on Barry. "How about you? Going to throw some super romantic gesture and proclaim your love for Iris, yet?" I wiggled my eyebrows, and he chuckled a little.

Cisco, by this point, had fixed his attention between something at his workspace and the two of us.

Barry scratched at his neck a little, a nervous tick I'd noticed he acquired when talking, particularly, about Iris. "Well, I'm not—I'm not so sure about my feelings for Iris anymore, you know?" This was surprising to hear, even from him. "I'm sort of glad she has Eddie—she is my best friend, and I mean, I'll always love her, but I think there might be someone else in the picture." He raised his eyebrows suggestively, and began to backtrack out of the room. "So, who knows."

I frowned and was suddenly aware of my heartbeat. "Is it Felicity?" I called as he ducked out of sight around the corner.

I heard him laugh and could almost picture him shaking his head. "No!"

I turned to Cisco when I was sure Barry was out of hearing range and he shook his head. "Oh, don't even start on me," He raised his hands defensively. "Save that for Cait."

* * *

The playful air was lost the next day as the team, including Joe, stood around in the Cortex.

"The witness described seeing a yellow blur just like the one that killed Barry's mother."

As Joe finished his recount from the attack on Mercury Labs the night before, there was a very brief silence throughout the room before Cisco spoke up.

"Then we need to get cracking and stop this speed psycho." Cisco hesitated as he put an oversized candy cane in his mouth. "That—I wasn't trying to give him a name."

I snorted.

"The crime scene at Mercury Labs was on a floor with highly secured vaults, and the witness said he was looking for something." Barry cut in.

"Whatever it was, he wanted it badly enough to kill for it." Harrison mused. He had his thoughtful thinking face on and it almost made me want to laugh despite the blatant seriousness of the situation.

"Doctor," Joe began. "What do you know about this Mercury Labs?"

"Mercury was one of S.T.A.R. Labs' major competitors until our little setback," Harrison spoke with the same somehow emotive coldness, as usual. "And then it," He paused for a quick, loud clap for effect, "catapulted to the forefront led by Dr. Christina McGee, brilliant but egocentric physicist." He pulled up her picture on the screens behind Joe.

"Says here," Cisco began, glancing between us and his tablet. "Dr. McGee has secured half a billion dollars in private funding to develop, and I quote, "Prototypes for the technology of the future."

I felt a jolt of excitement. "Wait, does she mean tachyons?" I started tapping at my watch face excitedly.

"Exactly." Harrison nodded. "Tina's messing with tachyons; superluminal particles."

Joe glanced, clueless, between us. "Of course… So, what could someone do with one of these," His hand gestures insinuated help, so I provided.

"Tachyons."

"Thank you." Joe nodded at me.

"Well," Harrison shrugged and squeezed his hands into a fist. "I don't know. Become invincible? If you could devise a matrix stable enough to harness their power, you could… travel faster than light."

I nodded along with him, trying to break it down further for Joe's sake. "The theory is that if you could harness the power of tachyons, you could send messages back—and potentially, forward—in time. And, if you went even further than that, well."

"Time travel?" Joe's eyebrows rose incredulously.

I nodded and Barry cut in, somewhere between determination and frustration—an expected response to the sudden resurfacing of his mother's killer. "He's gonna try to get them again, so we need to get what Mercury has and use it as a lure."

"Exactly right," Harrison agreed and began to pull himself out from behind the desk. "Cisco, Caitlin, let's start engineering a trap." I didn't expect him to make his way towards me following these words. "Riley, a word?"

I nodded and followed him into the treadmill room, where, despite the closed door, he spoke in hushed tones of immediacy.

"Your powers have the potential to cancel out those of The Flash."

I nodded.

"We may need to use them against this new threat—if we assume that his powers are the same as Barry's, you might just be able to stop him completely."

My nodding continued. "Then, I'll practice with Barry?"

Harrison held up a hand. "No." He shook his head quickly, and there was a real evidence of urgency in the way he spoke. "It's very unlikely that Barry would agree to you building your ability to render his speed useless." I felt like there was something wrong with that—I didn't, personally, think Barry would react that way, but Harrison had known him longer, so I let it be. "This will be just you and me, one on one, when he's not around. I think this study of your abilities is long overdue."

I nodded and turned to leave when there was a moment of finality, but was stopped at the door.

"And Riley?"

I turned and nodded. "Don't tell Cisco or Caitlin about this, either."

I paused momentarily, trying to place why something felt so wrong somewhere in my chest, but brushed it off, gave a final salute and left the room.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry for such a long wait, but I can only apologise so much because I am a. in my final year of high school, Year 12 (Australia, haha), and it's hectic as shit because I'm an attempted overachiever. I'm also trying to maintain outside of school stuff and writing an original novel of my own, so I haven't had a great deal of time. Trust me to find time the week before mid-year exams, haha.**_

 _ **I have every intent to continue this story, don't worry about that. It just might take a while.**_

 ** _Thanks to those who reviewed and gave feedback! xx  
_**

 ** _So yeah, we're finally intersecting with the canon of the show, in Episode 9, The Man in the Yellow Suit! The next chapter will continue on from here :)_**

 ** _P.S. That season finale though, for season 2. Holy crap?!_**


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